FLASHBACK: Historic moment to be recreated at grand opening

It was a cool night in June when the Ipswich Technical College was officially opened by the most respected "lord" of the land in front of the large crowd.

IT WAS a cool night in June when the Ipswich Technical College was officially opened by the most respected "lord" of the land in front of the large crowd.

An ornate silver key forged by a local jeweller became the symbol of the occasion which would many years in the future give Ipswich residents a chance to learn a hands-on craft.

Now, more than a century later, that technical college will retake its place in the city as one of the most significant buildings - both architecturally and culturally - only this time it will be a precinct of entertainment rather than training.

Ipswich Technical College in 1906. Picture: John Oxley Library

For 116 years, the red-brick building on the corner of Limestone and Ellenborough Sts has been considered an iconic landmark, heralded as an "architectural monument".

But since 2013, the bulk of the CBD precinct has been hidden from view, its many rooms largely empty, except for a small army of construction workers seen coming and going, particularly in the past 12 months.

Those tradesmen have worked tirelessly to restore the interior of the building, along with the original appearance and feel, to something resembling what it was like when the first students entered what would become known as one of G Brockwell Gill's most prized designs.

Even before the college's establishment, Ipswich had proven itself dedicated to education.

(Scroll down for today's Open Day event details) 

>>Pumpyard Brewery picks up top beer award 

Before 1891, formal classes were already under way at the School of Arts, which offered book-keeping, drawing, algebra and geometry.

Dress-making, cookery, ambulance work, geography, history and Latin were then added to syllabus but the depression of the early 1890s created financial strain and the college closed from 1893 to 1896.

In 1897 the first classes in coal mining began and so too did the rumblings within the community for a more formal place to train young people.

A public meeting was called where it was decided to commemorate Queen Victoria's Silver Jubilee - 25 years since her coronation - the technical college would be established.

A government grant worth 2000 was secured and 1000 raised by the Ipswich community.

By 1901 the building Block A was ready and the QT was there to cover the historic moment.

Ipswich Technical College float, Whittakers truck, 1960s.

That night, Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland, was handed the special key to officially open the front doors on the college for the first time.

It was burnished silver and enclosed in a neat morroco case.

Mr M.F. Smith had forged the key for that moment; the end portion was in the shape of the Order of the Garter and bore an inscription commemorating the occasion when the doors of the oldest and most decorative structure within the precinct would be opened.

That building bears the Latin words 'Auspicium Melioris Aevi' which roughly translates as 'command better lives'.

By the time October rolled around funding for the college had already become an issue.

By 1910 the Ipswich student population had rapidly expanded.

Over the next couple of decades, an electrical laboratory was added, along with a domestic sciences area on the top floor of the college and in 1917 a second building was finished.

In the basement students would find engineering workshops, a storeroom, pattern making shop, a plumbing shop and a blacksmith's shop.

Frederick Goleby was Ipswich Bowls Club President from 1917 to 1918. He was an Alderman on Ipswich City Council, 1901-1906 and 1907-1910, and was Mayor in 1906. Picture: Picture Ipswich, Ipswich City Co

The building expansion went on and in 1924 a new building was finished along with workshops added in 1937. The college became a major asset during the Second World War and the grounds were used to train the Defence Force.

By 1948 the college ran into financial trouble and in July 1951 administration was taken over by the Queensland Government.

In April 2013 the property was purchased by developer James Long and his wife Tracey who had a vision of restoring the buildings to preserve the history while creating a space that would suit a modern Ipswich.

VISION: The new owners of the old technical college buildings, James and Tracey Long. Picture: Sarah Harvey

"It's been like a grand designs episode," Mr Long said.

"I thought it would take half as long and cost half as less, but anything worth doing is always hard.

"I am relieved to be at the end of this project which I call a restoration, not a renovation.

"We've gone to great lengths to hide all the modern features we've added, such as the $1 million worth of air-conditioning.

"It's been a challenge to turn this 100-year old building into a modern compliant property without looking like it."

• What: Grand opening of the restored Ipswich Technical College

• Where: 88 Limestone St, Ipswich

• When: Open to public noon-3pm, Saturday May 13. At 4pm His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersy, Governor of Queensland will officially re-open the development

Originally published as FLASHBACK: Historic moment to be recreated at grand opening